1505 Race: Affordable Senior Housing for Over-the-Rhine, Spring 2011

This was the second year in-residency at CR architecture + design’s 23rd story office suite. The semester that began with a programming study for an empty church at 15th and Race Streets ended with a proposal for senior housing on the lot across the street.

Check out our blog for the full story: http://atelier2011.blogspot.com/
The church was undergoing a touch-and-go roof stabilization, hampered by severe late-winter weather. An inaccessible building and the lack of a “real” client resulted in a studio investigation that could only go so far.

The goal of the Atelier being to produce a professional-quality design set for a community based project, we shifted our focus to the lot between Pleasant and Race Streets, just to the north of 15th Street. The lot, comprised of several parcels and two empty historic buildings, is perhaps the largest property in Over-the-Rhine available for new development.

During a lunchtime charette with architects from CR and developers, affordable senior housing was suggested as the best use of the site due to:

•Lack of similar facilities in Over-the-Rhine that support the concept of “aging in place”. This type of housing is being sought by multiple community-based non-profits in the neighborhood.
•Proximity to public transportation, amenities, necessities. (see map)
•Reduced parking requirements for senior facilities. One space per three dwelling units (instead of 1:1) allowed for more density on the site, appropriate to the urban neighborhood.
•Room for +/- 80 units, the appropriate operating size for a senior facility of this sort.

From this, Atelier participants generated a schematic design set for the senior housing initiative.